A Written Record of Personal Self-Improvement

A Simple and Easy to Remember Prayer

There are various versions of Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer out there. It’s a rather lengthy one to remember if one chooses to memorize it. However, contained within is a fairly short stanza that is this:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Even this version has some variants, for instance, “Christ in quiet, and in danger” is sometimes written “Christ in quiet, Christ in danger” but the idea is the same. I like this excerpt because it reminds us of several things if we’re Christians:

Christ is always with us. There isn’t anywhere He is not.

Christ must live through us and overcome our sinful nature (“Christ within me” and “Christ to win me”)

Christ promises to give us rest, to grant us comfort, to help us when we need it.

Christ is there for every situation, whether good (quiet) or bad (danger).